Not the Time (Part 7/10?)

Mar 22, 2006 16:57

Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten A |
Ten B | Ten C | Eleven | Conclusion



Not the Time (Part Seven)

Lois looked like she was about two seconds away from grabbing the nearest farm tool to take off Clark’s head. Her hands on her hips and the warning glare did little to assure him his superpowers would be enough to help him survive the wrath of Lois Lane. “What the HELL were you thinking?” Her voice was almost a growl.

Clark couldn’t help but flinch. The Sullivan-Lane women sure knew how to scare the life out of a person with a single look. Definitely a family trait, he thought. “Okay, yelling probably isn’t the best way to deal with this.”

If possible, her eyes narrowed even more and if he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought flames were about to shoot from her eyes. Poking him in the chest with one finger, every movement indicating she was seconds away from kicking his ass, Lois gritted her teeth. “So help me God, Kent, if you--”

“Lois!” Chloe quickly put herself between the two of them and Clark couldn’t help but feel safer. “Stop. It’s not Clark’s fault.”

She gave her cousin a sour look. “Right. You knocked yourself up.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Chloe wrapped her arms around herself. “Clark’s not the father.”

If Chloe had just announced that Clark was actually an alien from another planet, Lois wouldn’t have been more surprised than she was at that moment. Not to mention confused. “Wait…run that by me again? Clark’s not the father? But he just said--”

“That we didn’t have anything to explain to Lex and Lana,” she finished, a hint of weariness seeping into her voice.

“You jumped to a conclusion,” Clark said with a smirk.

Lois pinned him with another warning glare and he shut up once more. “Well I certainly wasn’t the only one who made that intuitive leap. Lex Luthor just took your ex-girlfriend out of here like they’d been shot at.”

Chloe slowly turned to look at Clark, wanting to be angry with him, but feeling unable to muster up enough energy to do so. “What was that?” she asked, shaking her head as her hazel eyes met his blue ones.

He gazed at her for a moment, then sighed a little, not fully sure of the reasons himself. “I don’t know. I just…wanted to help,” he said apologetically, hoping she wasn’t angry with him.

She rubbed the back of her neck, looking drained all of a sudden. “I’m gonna…go lie down.”

Lois looked at her worriedly. “Are you okay? Do you want us to come with you?”

She shook her head, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “No. But do me a favor.” She looked between them. “Try not to kill each other.”

Clark and Lois watched as Chloe descended the loft steps and headed toward the house.

“I can’t believe this.” Lois folded her arms across her chest again.

Clark let out a breath, listening to make sure Chloe made it all the way to the house, her footsteps crunching in the snow. When he heard the door creak, he knew she’d retreated safely. He turned to look at Lois. “It’s a lot to take in.”

She gave him a look. “Way to understate the obvious, Smallville.” This time, Lois began to pace the floor, resuming where Chloe had left off. Another family trait, he thought as it occurred to him how many things Chloe had in common with her older cousin.

Of course, Lois got on his nerves ninety-nine percent of the time, as where Chloe rarely did.

“Somehow I always thought if one of us was in this kind of trouble it would be me,” she admitted. “I have no real life, no goals, but Chloe…” Her voice trailed off.

“It’s going to put a crimp in her ace-investigative reporter status,” Clark said, sitting down on the sofa.

“No kidding.” She raked a hand through her hair. “Not to mention her classes at M.U. What’s she going to do?”

Clark rested his elbows on his knees, watching her pace.

“I don’t understand why she didn’t come to me instead of…” She shot him a look, then sighed. “You know what I mean.”

He nodded a little, not taking offense. “Maybe she didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Lois frowned. “Disappoint me?” She shook her head. “I’m not disappointed with her, just worried.” She sank own on the couch beside him. “Chloe’s more of a sister to me than Lucy ever has been.”

Clark could tell by the distant look in her eyes that she was remembering their younger years.

“With Lucy, I always had to take care of her, protect her. But Chloe could always take care of herself. Hell, sometimes she took care of me and she was the younger one.”

“Sounds like Chloe,” he murmured.

“After her mom left…she was different.”

“Different how?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Lois stood up once more, staring out the loft window. “She got kind of distant.” She rubbed her arms in an attempt to get warm. “I think it was her own way of keeping herself from getting hurt again. Because if you don’t let anyone get close, they don’t have the power to hurt you.”

Yet another thing Lois and Chloe have in common, Clark realized.

“But you two are close now,” he pointed out.

“We’re still not as close as we used to be. In fact, I think out of everyone, you’re the one who’s closest to her.” She turned to face him with a grave expression and he swallowed hard.

“So I wanna make something clear. Chloe has feelings for you. She always has,” Lois said bluntly. “And if you do anything--and I do mean anything--to break her heart or hurt her in anyway?” She stepped closer to him, her eyes narrowed and dangerous. “I will hunt you down and break every bone in your not-so-innocent farm-boy body. Got it?”

If he hadn’t understood exactly where she was coming from, Clark might have chuckled at the threat. “I got it.”

Eyeing him suspiciously, she turned and headed for the stairs.

“Lois.” He stood up.

She turned to face him once more.

“I care about Chloe. A lot. I would never do anything to hurt her intentionally.”

She gazed at him. “Sometimes you can hurt someone worse unintentionally.”

Clark watched her leave, letting her words sink in slowly.

* * *

Martha sat at the kitchen table going over the state senator documents. It only took her a moment before her motherly instincts kicked in and she saw her son’s tall frame leaning in the doorway. She pulled her glasses off. “Clark? You’re up late. What is it?”

He remained silent for a moment, then moved to sit at the table across from her, staring down at his hands.

She frowned a little, but simply waited. She knew him well enough to know he’d talk when he was ready.

“Mom…when you and Dad found me after the meteor shower…” He hesitated, not sure how to ask what he wanted--needed--to know. “Was it hard for him to think of me as his son?”

Martha was taken aback. “No. Your father loved you as soon as he saw you, the same as I did.”

He smiled a bit. “But you can love someone without them really belonging to you…right?”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she reached across the table to touch his arm. “Clark, since the day you found us, you were ours. There was never any question. We couldn’t have loved you anymore if you’d been our biological son.”

He was silent. “So neither of you ever regretted it?”

“Clark, no. Of course not.” She shook her head. “Where’s this coming from?”

He stood and started walking the length of the kitchen floor. “It’s just…I’ve been thinking…what if because of who I am, I can never have kids? I mean kids of my own?”

Martha started to reply, but he continued.

“It’s something I’ve thought about a lot. But…just because I can’t have biological kids doesn’t mean I can’t be a father. I mean, look at you and Dad.”

It suddenly dawned on her where he was going with this and her eyes widened. “Clark--”

“Mom, you were right when you said I had unresolved feelings for Chloe.” He stopped pacing and looked at her intently. “I’ve just been too afraid to pursue anything with her because I thought it’d end like things did with Lana.”

“And now you don’t?”

Clark rubbed the back of his neck. “She knows everything about me,” he said softly. “Everything. And she doesn’t look at me any differently than she did before.”

Martha suppressed a smile, nodding for him to continue.

“She accepts me for who I am--all of me.” He sat down at the table once more. “Lois told me Chloe still has those feelings for me.”

This wasn’t news to her.

“This could be my chance to have a family of my own,” he said quietly.

Martha was silent for a few seconds. “What about your destiny?”

“What if this is my destiny?” Clark looked at her. “Mom, I believe everything happens for a reason. Chloe’s pregnancy, her knowing about me, my break-up with Lana…the timing of it all. What if this is what I’m supposed to do?”

She leaned forward in her chair. “So you’re saying you want to be with Chloe and help her raise her baby as your own?” He nodded and she sighed softly. “It’s a big decision, Clark. A huge responsibility.”

“I know it is. But you and Dad raised me to make good decisions. And this one…feels right.” He looked down at the table. “Ever since I found out Chloe was pregnant, all I’ve wanted to do is be there for her and keep her safe,” he admitted.

Martha looked at him. “That’s not really any different from what you’ve always wanted for Chloe.”

“Yeah, except now…” He looked up and met her gaze. “I see myself with her…with this baby…as more than friends.” He let out a breath, and swallowed hard. “Mom, I think I’m falling in love with her.”

sv fic: not the time, show: smallville, character: chloe sullivan, pairing: chloe sullivan/clark kent, fanfic: general

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